"And what happens next?"

"What do you mean 'what happens next?' This is the third time I've read you this story today," Blake chuckled as Mina eagerly leaned forward, grasping the blankets as though to steady herself, "I'd think you'd get bored of it by now…"

But Mina shook her head emphatically in the negative, "I love this story!"

Blake smiled, "Well, thank you for letting me read it to you…"

"Well Miss Weiss is busy with grown-up work…" Mina lamented, "Her voice is so pretty – but yours is nice too though…"

Blake shot Weiss a slightly envious look as the Heiress scratched the back of her neck hesitantly, but she let it go with a sigh, "Miss Weiss is also an accomplished singer…"

Mina's eyes widened, totally awed, "Really?" she turned vaguely in Weiss's direction, "Can you sing a song?"

"Er… well…"

Blake shook her head, serves me right for bringing that up…

It had been two weeks now, and after a brief period of easing into another new routine, Mina had adjusted to having Blake present with her and Weiss rather smoothly. She had been reluctant at first, but she had accepted it when Weiss made story-time contingent upon Blake being the one to actually read – even if Mina's acceptance was timidly issued whilst hiding under Blake's comforter – her want for her bedtime story was greater, it seemed, than her fear of Blake. The next day, Blake had fully cemented her place in Mina's routine by bringing a new book – Mina's anxieties were forgotten all at once as Blake regaled her with the adventures of yet another charming prince in his quest to rescue his princess. Five days later, one would never have known that Blake's mere presence in a room had been enough to frighten Mina to silence just a week previously. Still, try as Blake might, Mina remained more attached to Weiss in her child-like state.

"Miss Weiss is very busy right now Mina…" Blake gave the Heiress an out as she turned the page in her book, "And besides, the prince is about to sneak into the sorcerer's castle…"

And like that, Blake had Mina's attention again – at least until Weiss's scroll went off, "What? Ugh… And I was just about to start Oobleck's-,"

"Doctor Oobleck's~" Mina corrected with a giggle, calling back to a particular session of griping that the Heiress had indulged in on the subject earlier.

Weiss shot her a look, "I was just about to start Doctor Oobleck's paper too…" She pulled her scroll from her pocket, and her expression changed from annoyance to surprise, "It's… It's Ironwood…"

"It is?" Blake nearly dropped the book she was holding in her excitement, "Well don't keep him waiting – answer it!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Weiss sought to mollify Blake as she complied, answering the call.

Meanwhile, Mina was left uncomprehending, puzzled, and a trifle miffed that story-time had been cut short, "But… the prince was going to-,"

"Later Mina, I promise," Blake hushed her listening carefully as General Ironwood's personably authoritative voice came through, "Good afternoon Miss Schnee,"

"General,"

"Still all business I see; like father like daughter, I suppose," Ironwood said genially, though it was fairly evident on Weiss's face that she was not thrilled by the comparison, "General, my friend has been stuck in the mental state of a seven year old for two weeks; I'm sure you'll understand my sense of urgency,"

"So I do," Ironwood allowed, "And I have good news on that front; that expert I mentioned arrived from Atlas this morning. You and your teammates can bring Miss Carfax to the infirmary at your earliest convenience; Dr. Edrych-Gwydr has set up a treatment suite in ward B, room nine,"

Weiss nodded to her scroll, "Very well; you can tell the good doctor to expect, Mina, Blake, and I within a few minutes; perhaps you could persuade Goodwitch to have Ruby and Yang pulled from their afternoon classes?"

Ironwood chuckled, "Glynda, let a student out of classes? I make no promises, but I'll see what I can do. For now though, Dr. Edrych-Gwydr is waiting."

"Thank you General," Weiss nodded as she closed her scroll and turned to Blake and Mina, attempting to look as calm as possible, "Well, let's not keep the good doctor waiting…"

Blake nodded, her heart fluttering in hopeful excitement as she put the book down and took Mina's hand, "Come on Mina, let's go see the doctor-,"

"But the story!" Mina complained, pouting.

Blake bent down to take Mina's other hand, "Please Mina? I promise, if you come along now and be a good girl for the doctor, I'll read you the story as many times as you want, okay? Please?"

Mina blinked a few times and looked away somewhat disappointedly, "Do I have to Miss Weiss?"

Weiss nodded patiently, "It's for your own good Mina…"

"Okay…"

Miss Weiss and Miss Blake led Mina out of the dorm and out in the corridors in a direction that she was not familiar with. She wasn't worried though; Miss Weiss let Mina hold her hand, and Miss Blake stayed close – Mina could tell, because she could hear miss Blake's footsteps – so she had nothing to worry about. Besides, doctors were nice people – Mother had always said so at least – so disappointed though she was to have her story cut short just before the best part, Mina nonetheless continued along, following Miss Weiss's lead.

A few minutes later, after several turns and a flight of stairs, Mina heard Miss Blake step ahead to open a door and usher her inside and down another hall to a room near the end. This door was closed too, but on the other side Mina could hear two voices – one was the man who had called Miss Weiss a few minutes ago, but Mina did not recognize the other one, although she could tell that it was a lady.

When Miss Blake knocked on the door though, the conversation stopped and the door was opened for them quickly, "Ah, Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna…. And Miss Carfax… Please, come inside; I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Edrych-Gwydr,"

"And what about Yang and Ruby?" Miss Weiss inquired of Mr. Ironwood.

Mina did not understand much that was said after that – only that Miss Weiss sounded very serious and Mr. Ironwood sounded politely formal.

"They're currently taking an exam, but we've notified Professor Port, and they should be along shortly," The general responded cordially, but the small-talk was cut abruptly short as Blake spoke directly to the fair-haired woman in the Powder-blue women's suit whom Ironwood had summoned from Atlas.

"Can you help her?" Blake asked, getting to the heart of the matter without pause for niceties.

Weiss and Ironwood fell silent, and Mina looked confused, but the visitor smiled softly, "That depends…"

The woman stepped forward to look at Mina more closely, "James tells me that she is exhibiting signs of mental retrogression?" she asked, seeking affirmation.

Blake nodded as Dr. Edrych-Gwydr looked an unwitting Mina straight in the eyes, "Yes… Eleven years… just… gone…"

"And I'm told that this happened after an encounter with one 'Nadia Undine' who, looking Miss Carfax directly in the eyes, commanded her to forget…" The doctor looked up and at Blake, "You, if I understand James' case briefing correctly?"

Blake nodded again, but it was Weiss who actually spoke in answer, "Yes, but she forgot everything…"

The doctor nodded soberly, "But neither of you – or your teammates – saw exactly what happened?"

"The only person with her at the time was a friend she has in Vale…" Blake admitted, "But whatever that Undine girl did, she got me too – it just, wasn't as severe…"

"Yes, James tells me that you were instructed to 'get lost' after the assailant established eye contact?"

Blake nodded again.

"Hmmm…" Dr. Edrych-Gwydr folded her arms over her chest as she thought it over, "A powerful variation upon hypnotic suggestion established through eye-contact… I have seen this sort of thing before – but it's rare; a semblance of that nature – assuming of course that it is a Semblance with which we are dealing of course, but I for one know of no means to do this with Dust – but as I was saying this sort of Semblance is, in my experience, the reflection of a soul frustrated by a perceived lack of agency in one's own life – a soul desperate for control in any form it can be had. I wish I could speak to this Nadia Undine… I have dealt with cases like this before, but never one where the outcome was quite so extensive," she gestured Mina's way, "The one who did this needs therapy at least as much as Miss Carfax…"

"I'd say that's pretty evident," Blake muttered bitterly, "But please, can we help the victim first?"

"Miss Belladonna…" The Doctor looked her way now, a sad look of understanding on her face, "I understand that you and Miss Carfax were… intimate?"

Blake looked away as a curious and uncomprehending Mina looked over at her, "Yes…"

"Miss Weiss, what does intimid mean?"

"Sh…" Weiss hushed Mina with a gentle pat on the shoulder. Blake's eyes squeezed shut.

"I see…" Edrych-Gwydr nodded soberly, "And Miss Schnee… You have been Miss Carfax's primary caretaker through all this?"

"Yes…"

"That… could complicate things…" The doctor's mouth set in a line, "She's obviously grown attached to you…"

Weiss was silent, leaving Blake to demand explanation, "Complicates things? How?"

"If my treatment is successful," the doctor began calmly, "She'll remember everything she should, but she is not going to forget the last two weeks… And childhood experiences – and odd circumstances though we may be dealing with, that is what she has been living – are extremely formative-,"

"Are you saying that she's going to be different?" Blake demanded, struggling to control her panic.

"Not greatly," The specialist responded gently, "Two weeks is not enough to overwrite eighteen years, but…" she paused, looking first between Weiss and Blake, and then to Mina, "In the short term, she may continue to exhibit... dependency upon Miss Schnee… In all likelihood it will pass with time as she moves past this traumatic experience but you must understand that this kind of ordeal would be enough to confuse any normal person…"

"Mina isn't normal…" Blake said more as a reassurance to herself than anything, but the doctor took interest.

"James, would you mind stepping out? Confidentiality and the like, I'm sure that you understand?" She motioned to the general, who complied without complaint and departed the room. When he had left, Edrych-Gwydr asked, "Not normal how, exactly?"

"Well…" Blake thought it over carefully before she answered, "She's always been… dependent – on me – and as we grew up, she became… obsessive…"

"Dangerously?"

Blake shook her head hastily, "No! Not with me at least…" Edrych-Gwydr's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, prompting Blake to continue, "She's very protective… and as far as she's concerned, all that matters on a moral level is my approval…"

The Atlesian specialist raised an eyebrow, shooting Mina, who had sat herself on the infirmary bed across the room whilst the 'grown-ups' talked, "That may minimize the issue, but I wouldn't go so far as to discount the possibility entirely; after we finish here, I want to see her, and if at all possible, the two of you every few days for counseling – at least for the first few weeks,"

Blake and Weiss both nodded.

"Good," the doctor nodded, and then turned to Blake specifically, "Lastly, I use my Semblance for treatments like this, Miss Belladonna, and the method involves a temporary merging of consciousness while I look for the 'block.' During that time, I will have access to the bulk of her memories, and while I of course maintain the confidentiality of my patients, I do generally require the express permission of the subject for such an… intrusive procedure, but seeing as Miss Carfax is not currently…" She glanced over at Mina again, "Mature enough to make that decision for herself on an informed basis, and these past weeks aside, you are the closest thing she has to family, I'll need your consent."

Weiss shot Blake an appraising look as Blake's eyes widened in surprise. The fair-haired doctor wore an expression that seemed at once to appreciate her apprehension and urge her to make a decision, "All of her memories…?"

"I only examine those which I deem relevant to treatment, but yes," she nodded, "However, James will not hear a word of it that you do not tell him yourself,"

Small relief, "Well… it's just that we…"

The woman smiled slightly, "I was your age once too, Miss Belladonna; if it helps, I promise not to dwell on anything… intimate,"

Blake nodded, closing her eyes as she blushed, "Please… Do it…"

"Very well… Now, you may remain in the room if you like, but please, no talking during the treatment, yes?" Blake and Weiss nodded again, "Now if you'll excuse me ladies…"

All the while Miss Weiss and Miss Blake were talking to the Doctor-lady, Mina just sat, busying herself by tugging on the sheets of the infirmary bed. They weren't as soft as the ones in Miss Blake's bed and the pillow wasn't as firm, but it was alright. She did not understand most of what the grown-ups wore talking about, or why Mr. Ironwood had to leave, but still she waited patiently – she was a good girl, after all, so until the Doctor-lady walked over to sit opposite her on a chair, she'd been quietly amused herself by rolling bits of the bed sheet between her fingers.

"Hello Mina," The Doctor-lady spoke with her gentle voice, "May I call you that?"

Mina blinked – she saw nothing, but it was only polite to try to look at people when talking to them – and she nodded, "Yes…"

"Thank you," The lady said, "My name is Alice,"

"Are you a doctor Miss Alice…?"

"Of a sort," Miss Alice admitted, "And I'd like to help you, okay?"

"But… I don't feel sick…"

"And you're not…" Miss Allice said, "You've just forgotten some things, and I want to help you remember,"

"What things?" Mina asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Miss Schnee and Miss Belladonna tell me that you've been their friend for a while, but you don't remember most of it," Miss Alice explained, "May I hold your hand?"

"O-okay…" Mina meekly nodded , letting the woman take her hands. Mina found it passing strange that Miss Alice's hands didn't seem bigger than her own, but she dismissed it, asking instead a somewhat more pressing question, "What are you going to do…?"

"We're going to try a thought exercise…"

"A what?"

"Close your eyes," Dr. Alice instructed, and Mina obeyed, "Now, I want you to think about what happened just before you remember meeting Miss Schnee and Miss Belladonna,"

"I… I was with… Miss Weiss said that her name was Miss Clara-,"

"Not Miss Clara," Miss Alice corrected, "Miss Belladonna told the General that you don't call Clara, Weiss, or Blake herself 'miss.' Focus on that, alright?"

Mina nodded slowly, "Very well,"

"Good; now I want you to think about the last thing that you remember before that,"

Mina looked away, "I don't want to…"

"Mina… I need you to focus…"

"But…" Mina sniffed, "I was all alone…"

Miss Alice nodded, "I know… I can see it… You were very brave Mina,"

"I don't want to remember this-,"

"Deep breaths Mina," Miss Alice instructed, "If you want, just relax; I can take it from here…"

It was a strange experience for Mina; it was like her thoughts were flitting in and out of her mind – at first she didn't like it because she had to think about being all alone after Mother didn't wake up, but that only lasted a moment. After that though, it was as though half her mind was trying to remember something a hundred ways at once, leaving the other half to wonder why.

"What are you doing Miss Alice…?"

But the Doctor was quiet, and the sifting inside Mina's head continued. Here Mina would think of – or was she remembering like Miss Alice said? – Odd snatches of conversation, but not enough to be coherent. Here there was a few words about a Vale Grand Hotel, and then something completely different about "all I have to give," but they were gone as quickly as they'd come into her mind. She felt scared, happy, sad – everything all at once, and just like the broken and disparate pieces of thought, the impressions changed and vanished as quickly as they first appeared… It was a very strange mix of feelings, she felt as though something was just beyond her grasp of memory, as though seen through a thick fog, but she couldn't make sense of any of the thoughts before they were gone again. Gone, that was, until one thought came into focus: I want to know how the story ends…

"I think that's the one," Dr. Alice nodded, "Now Mina, I want you to take a deep breath, and open your eyes…"

With only a moment's hesitation, Mina obeyed; the Doctor was a nice person, and Mina felt like she could trust Miss Alice – she almost felt like an old friend somehow – but when she opened her eyes the fog lifted. As the dam broke though, Mina still couldn't focus on all that was flooding back because, in addition to all that was coming back, there was something new; she could see. She did not know what to make of it at first before her sat a tall young woman with black hair, easily notable bat ears set toward the back of the top of her head, fair skin, and pale eyes. Not believing it, Mina blinked, and so too did the girl in her view, and then she understood, I have blue eyes… so that is what blue looks like…

"Do you remember now Mina?" Doctor Edrych-Gwydr asked, gently, "you don't have to answer right away – take a minute if you need it,"

"I…" Mina felt a tightness in her chest, and there was a lump in her throat, "I… I'm… seeing…"

Mina heard Blake gasp, and she desperately wanted to pull away from the doctor and run to her, but she resisted as Edrych-Gwydr explained. "I've used my Semblance to unblock your memory Miss Carfax – it's a sort of mental link; mutual sensory perception is one of the side-effects. It will cease when I sever the-,"

"Not yet!" Mina begged, "Please… Can I see Blake first?"

"Mina…"Blake tentatively spoke, "Doctor… can I…?"

Edrych-Gwydr nodded, "The treatment is complete, but I have no qualms indulging her on this… she has been through a lot…"

"Thank you…" Blake replied, breathless, moving to sit at mina's side on the infirmary bunk, "I'm here Mina…"

Mina felt her eyes begin to water as another black-haired girl sat beside the figure which she'd come to recognize as herself. She had longer hair, and her eyes were very different – golden amber with dark pupils, and Mina could see the bow that Blake most always wore to cover her smaller cat ears… She was somewhat more lankily built than Mina herself, but not by a great measure. Still, it was only when she felt the soft brush of Blake's fingers on her shoulder that Mina finally believed it.

"Blake…"

"I'm sorry… I probably don't look my best…" Blake said with a smile despite the tears as she wiped them away, "But I'm here…" Blake's eyes were bloodshot – she'd not gotten much sleep in the last fourteen days – and her expression was a tired one, but still she smiled for Mina; this would probably be the only time she ever got to see it, "I love you…"

Mina turned to pull Blake into an embrace, "I'm sorry… I… I let her-,"

"Shshshsh…" Blake hushed her, "Not this again Mina – you didn't do this to yourself…" She turned to the doctor, "thank you…"

The doctor nodded, "For now, you can take her back to your dorm, but I want you to bring her back here in a few days time-,"

"Wait," Mina asked, "Weiss?"

Blake looked over at the Heiress inquiringly, but the doctor's gaze did not move, so Mina could not see her as she hesitantly responded, "I… you two should have your moment… I think perhaps it might be better if I didn't…"

Blake didn't quite know how to feel about that. On the one hand, given what the doctor had told them before beginning the session, Blake wanted to keep things as simple for Mina as possible, and would have been deceiving herself if she pretended as though not wanting to share Mina after two weeks was not a contributing factor. On the other hand… Mina wanted to see her best friend… Squeezing her eyes shut, Blake let out a sigh and made her decision, "No… You deserve to be a part of this too…"

"Alright…" The Heiress stood and made her way over to the bedside as well, hesitating again as she came into view, "So do I face you, or the doctor…?"

"She is seeing from my perspective," Dr. Edrych-Gwydr offered, but I don't think it could hurt to do both,"

Mina watched through the Doctor's eyes as Weiss nodded and sat beside her opposite Blake. It was true what everyone said about her – her skin was paler even than Mina's own – and her eyes were a blue just a shade or two deeper than Mina's. Her hair though, that was purest white, and a stark contrast to Blake and Mina's own dark shade of black. She gave a little melancholic smile Mina's way – or rather the doctor's - but it made no difference to Mina, she was seeing her face-

"Weiss…" Mina pulled away from Blake, "Your eye…?"

"It's nothing Mina…" Weiss brushed it off as she turned to face Mina herself now, "I'm just glad to have you back to yourself…"

"I must have been rather a bother these past weeks…"

Weiss shook her head, "Nonsense; I'm here for you, okay?"

Soberly Mina nodded thank you-,"

"WAIT!"

All present abruptly turned to the door as who should spill through it but Ruby and Yang, practically tripping over each other in a valiant – if ill-advised – effort to make up for time lost as they'd completed their exam, unaware of what had been going on until they'd completed the tests and were then told what was happening.

"We're sorry that we're late – we had a test and-,"

"Nobody do any freaky brain probes!"

Mina smiled as, through Edrych-Gwydr, she saw her last two teammates for the first and only time before the link finally faded and her familiar blindness resumed, "I am afraid that you just missed it…"

"Wha- Wait, Mina? You're back!?" Ruby inquired, unbelieving, "Like, you're really back to normal?"

"Quite so…"

"Bout damn time!" Yang cheered, "I've been getting' tired of beating the pavement looking for the psycho who did this by myself – Next day off we get, we're all goin' into Vale, finding the bitch, and-,"

"Not a bad idea, Miss Xiao Long…" General Ironwood interrupted as he followed the sisters in, albeit in a considerably more collected fashion, "I for one would very much like to have whoever did this off of the streets – and I am certain that Dr. Edrych-Gwydr would love to meet her as well…"

Edrych-Gwydr stood , "Indeed I would – but this girl needs help James, not a prison cell…"

At this, the whole room fell quiet. At some level or another, everyone in the room, though some more severely than others, wanted to see Undine punished for this – Everyone except the one who'd fixed it. Blake was not entirely sure how to feel – on the one hand, she shared so much of the same background with Undine, and could empathize with her frustration, but on the other… This was too much…

"We can discuss this when she's found, Doctor…" Ironwood responded in a level tone before addressing Team RWBY. "For now, though, I think you all have some… catching up to do; as per our arrangement Miss Schnee, I would like to debrief the five of you concerning this latest episode as well as other… recent events…"

"You'll get your interviews, General," Weiss nodded tiredly, "But please, tomorrow…"

"Of course,"

Standing up with Mina, Blake looked over to Alice Edrych-Gwydr once more setting aside her conflicted feelings, and trying to keep back her tears, "Thank you,"

The Doctor nodded, "Happy to help,"

Author's note: Yay! We have good old Mina back – but we aren't done with this arc yet… gotta go after Nadia now… after Ironwood's 'interviews,' and we're also not totally through with Dr. Edrych-Gwydr yet – incidentally I loosely based her on Alice in Wonderland (Edrych-Gwydr being Welsh for looking-glass – so says Google translate anyway, so if you actually speak Welsh and this is not in fact the case, please don't hurt mi… And if, like myself, you don't speak Welsh… good luck on the pronunciation too…). At any rate, I hope you liked this, and until next time, have a good one.